Henry Brooke (1694 – 21 August 1757) was an English schoolmaster and cleric.

Life

Brooke was a son of William Brooke, merchant, and his wife Elizabeth Holbrook, who were married at Manchester Church in 1678–9. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School, and gained an exhibition 1715–18. He proceeded to

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...

, where he graduated MA on 30 April 1720. He was DCL in 1727. Brooke, then a fellow of Oriel, was made headmaster of Manchester Grammar School in September 1727. He obtained a

mandamus (; ) is a judicial remedy in the form of an order from a court to any government, subordinate court, corporation, or public authority, to do (or forbear from doing) some specific act which that body is obliged under law to do (or refrain from ...

from the crown to elect him a fellow of the collegiate church, and was elected in 1728, in spite of Tory opposition. He appears to have been on good terms with

John Byrom John Byrom or John Byrom of Kersal or John Byrom of Manchester FRS (29 February 1692 – 26 September 1763) was an English poet, the inventor of a revolutionary system of shorthand and later a significant landowner. He is most remembered as t ...

, but he was unsuccessful as a master, and the

feoffees Under the feudal system in England, a feoffee () is a trustee who holds a fief (or "fee"), that is to say an estate in land, for the use of a beneficial owner. The term is more fully stated as a feoffee to uses of the beneficial owner. The use o ...

of the school reduced his salary from £200 to £10. In 1730 he received the Oriel College

living Living or The Living may refer to: Common meanings *Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms ** Living species, one that is not extinct *Personal life, the course of an individual human's life * Hu ...

of Tortworth in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. Here he lived, after resigning the mastership of the school in 1749, until his death on 21 August 1757. He was married, and had one daughter. Brooke left his library for the use of his successors at Tortworth. A portrait of him, as late as 1830, was at Mr. Hulton's, of Blackley.

Works

He published ''The Usefulness and Necessity of studying the Classicks, a speech spoken at the breaking-up of the Free Grammar School in Manchester, Thursday, 13 Dec. 1744. By Hen. Brooke, A.M., High Master of the said School. Manchester, printed by R. Whitworth, Bookseller, MDCCLXIV'' (a misprint for 1744). This tract is reprinted by Whatton. Another of his works, ''The Quack Doctor'', published in 1745, is described as very poor doggerel, with ironically laudatory notes, probably written by

Robert Thyer Robert Thyer (1709–1781) was an 18th-century British writer and literary editor, best known as Chetham's Librarian. Life Son of Robert Thyer, a silk weaver of Manchester, by his wife Elizabeth Brabant, he was baptised on 20 February 1709 at M ...

or the Rev. John Clayton. A Latin tract, ''Medicus Circumfaraneus'', is perhaps a translation of the preceding. Robert Watt attributed to him two

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...

s dated to 1746 and 1747. His best known book is ''A Practical Essay concerning Christian Peaceableness'', which went through three editions in 1741. The third edition contains some additional matter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooke, Henry 1694 births 1757 deaths 18th-century English writers 18th-century English male writers 18th-century English educators Clergy from Manchester Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Fellows of Oriel College, Oxford Education writers 18th-century English non-fiction writers English religious writers High Masters of Manchester Grammar School English non-fiction writers English male non-fiction writers People educated at Manchester Grammar School